A Sixt to Flaine ski lift in the next 4/5 years

Many people will have mixed feelings about this. The lack of a lift at Sixt has enabled it to remain relatively untouched by city-based 4x4's, but has also made it very difficult for businesses in the village to survive on the limited trade in Summer and a few weeks during the Winter. It now looks like a new gondola may well be built by 2018 with 2 further chairlifts connecting the bottom of the Cascades (at the bottom of the Sixt beginners area) to the top of Flaine. If this does happen (and there's a fair chance that this time it will), we think it may make Sixt the most attractive place to access the Grand Massif from - it certainly has some of the best scenery in the valley and the addition of direct access to Flaine, without battling down narrow connecting pistes via several busy chairlifts, will make it our first choice (though we're biased of course and already there!). Let's hope the necessary development is done sympathetically so the character of the village is not destroyed in the process.

Here follows our rough (though not guaranteed to be 100% accurate) translation of the article above...

Flaine - Sixt link next 5 years Thursday, 02/05/2013, 2:00 p.m.

The mayor of Sixt Fer à Cheval Stéphane Bouvet and CEO Pascal Tournier were united in their support as they presented the draft Sixt to Flaine ski link and the building of 2,000 tourist beds. If studies and technical records are completed and if the financing of the transaction is agreed, the connection between the bottom of the slope of the Cascades in Sixt Fer à Cheval and the top of Flaine could be operational by 2018. This is certainly the wish of the common sizère and the ski lift company, DSG, who was signed an agreement to this effect in January 2013. The Public Meeting, held in the Salle des Fetes on Tuesday, April 23, was attended by about sixty people and was an opportunity for the Mayor Stéphane Bouvet and the CEO of Grand Massif Development, Pascal Tournier to confirm this common intent. Both sides have a period of five years to refine the project and bring it to fruition. On the one hand, the ski lift company, DSG, will construct three lifts (one gondola and two chairlifts) establishing a connection between Sixt and Tete Pelouse (initial costs estimated at 23 million euros). In return, the town will promote the construction of 1,600 to 2,000 tourist beds supposed to provide a supply of winter clientele. In this case, the ski area Vagnys would be abandoned whilst the beginner area, Salvagny, would be improved and strengthened."We already control the 13,000 sqm of land at the top of Salvagny which could accommodate 800 beds. Other land near the village centre may interest a developer. Eventually, 2,000 additional beds would generate a tax revenue of 300,000 euros for the municipality" said Stéphane Bouvet, who sees this project as a real opportunity to develop the village resort.

Synchronized implementation of lifts and the building program would secure the ski area for another 40 years. Conversely, if the investment does not come to fruition, the agreement would be for a further 12 years only.

"Day skier revenue will also be taken into account in evaluating the project. It will be useful to study the implementation of a parking area even if, in the current thinking, no particular solution has been preferred or discounted" said Pascal Tournier.

The people present at the meeting showed no opposition to the project overall.